Hunter plant overhaul

More than 1,000 workers have converged on the Hunter No. 2 Unit to overhall the entire plant. Plant management allowed our photographers to tour the plant to get a look at what's inside the 500-megawatt facility. Above left, Diana Root stands beside the blades of the low-pressure turbine unit. When hit by powerful jets of steam, these blades spin at high speed along with high- and intermediate pressure units to turn the generator. The entire plant is dedicated to turning these blades and generator. Above right, the statium-sized turbine bay holds massive parts of the disassembled turbine-generator. In addition to a thorough inspection, refurbishing and repair, the plant is also upgrading an important part of its pollution control systems. Hunter No. 2 will replace its electrostatic precipitators with a more up-to-date baghouse system. The baghouse, similar to the one now in use at the No. 3 Unit, operates like a building full of vacuum cleaner bags. The bags use less energy than the precipitator and are better at filtering out fine smoke particles called fly ash. Visible in the center of the photo is a 480-foot-tall crane brought in to lift the roof off the precipitator building. The stacks are 600 feet tall. Photos by Diana Root and John Serfustini.